Jiang Ye had some rough guesses about the woman’s identity and purpose.

But he took the opportunity to use Ge Ge’s identity and sent Ouyang a private message:

【Do you know who that woman is?】

【Why do I get the feeling… she’s even stronger than Jiang Ye?】

Even though the woman had turned her head back to the 9999 Administrator after glancing at them,

Ouyang still hadn’t shaken off the fear from that one look.

At the same time, he was a little shocked by Ge Ge’s composure—

This guy was still able to DM him under these circumstances…

Ouyang took another deep breath, forcing himself to suppress his fear, and finally replied:

【No idea. But yeah, she really might be stronger than Jiang Ye. You think maybe Jiang Ye only became the 9999 Administrator because she made it possible?】

【What if she had business with the previous 9999 Administrator, and that guy didn’t know who he was dealing with, so she just slapped him to death…】

【And Jiang Ye, having the Rookie King identity, just happened to take the spot?

【So now, knowing her strength, Jiang Ye cooperates with her completely?】

“……”

Honestly, that analysis… made a lot of sense.

Jiang Ye didn’t argue, instead agreed:

【That’s actually very possible! But seriously—why couldn’t I have been the one to stumble into such a great opportunity?!】

【Also, if she really could one-shot the 9999 Administrator… then who is she?】

【And why didn’t she become the 9999 Administrator herself?】

Ouyang hadn’t thought of that at all.

But when he saw the line, “Why didn’t she become the 9999 Administrator,” inspiration struck:

【Maybe she didn’t become the Administrator… because her own identity is already above that level!】

【Could she be… the Apartment Boss?!】

When Ouyang sent that message, it looked like a question,

but in his heart, he was almost certain that this woman was the Apartment Boss!

Otherwise—who else in the entire Beginner Apartment could slap the 9999 Administrator to death?

Who else could order an Administrator around like that?

The more he thought about it, the more convinced he was:

This woman really might be the Apartment Boss!

And with that thought, his heart pounded furiously,

and a dozen wild ideas raced through his head.

Ouyang had risen to power by building goodwill with Administrators.

Even the previous 9999 Administrator had given him a Voice Transmission Pearl.

And the former 4444 Administrator had even let him into the Graveyard.

That alone proved—at least in others’ eyes—that he was pretty good at currying favor with Administrators.

The truth was, Ouyang had managed that thanks to his Talent: Charm Aura,

plus the innate skill [Resonance with the Strong], which made it easier to gain favor from those in power!

Now, if he tried to approach this “Apartment Boss”…

And if she really had the power to make Jiang Ye an Administrator by handing him a lucky break…

Then maybe, just maybe—she could let him be an Administrator too?!

Of course, dreaming was nice, but when it came to actually doing it, Ouyang still couldn’t suppress his fear.

Still, he lived by the saying from Eunuch Shen—

Opportunities to change your fate don’t come often in a lifetime!

If he didn’t want to be some nobody forever, he had to grab every chance with all his might!

So Ouyang took another deep breath,

his heart pounding, legs shaking…

And still, he stepped forward—heading toward the counter where the woman was speaking with the 9999 Administrator.

Jiang Ye, in his Ge Ge Replica, stared at Ouyang’s back in shock—

D*mn, this guy’s seriously that bold?!

Even the 9999 Administrator version of Jiang Ye, behind the desk, heard Ouyang’s voice—trembling but trying to sound composed:

“Excuse me… what are you talking about?”

Honestly, when Ouyang blurted that out, his mind went totally blank.

In that instant, he seriously thought he might die in the next second—

Cause of death: being nosy!

Right! Why did he ask such a stupid question?!

No! Even more importantly—why the h*ll did he rush up like that?!

Was he possessed?!

Had Ge Ge used some kind of mental control skill on him…?

Of course, these were just desperate delusions in Ouyang’s head.

Deep down, he knew—it was his own choice.

The woman was flipping through the Apartment Resident Registry, and Ouyang’s question made her pause.

The air grew strangely still for a long moment.

But to Ouyang’s shock, she didn’t slap him to death.

Instead, her face turned sour, and her voice was cold:

“You live in this apartment? Which room?”

Ouyang blinked in confusion, swallowed hard, and answered:

“I live in Room 2008… I’m Ouyang Fan…”

She glanced down at the registry, then gave a small nod.

Sure enough, Room 2008 was occupied by Ouyang Fan.

She looked at him again, her gaze thoughtful.

Then she suddenly sneered:

“Think that just because you’ve got Charm Aura, you can cling to the strong so easily?”

Ouyang’s brain buzzed—he was completely stunned!

In his mind, he really thought the next moment might be his last.

But—unexpectedly—

The woman suddenly handed him the registry book, her voice heavy:

“Here. You help me check.”

Check?

Check what?!

Ouyang looked dumbfounded, unable to believe he’d just dodged death!

Helping a bigshot with a task…

This! This was divine providence!

He was about to suppress his fear and ask what she wanted him to look for—

But the woman spoke again first:

“Among all the Eerie residents, find out if there’s one named ‘Yu Hu’.”

Ouyang’s eyes instantly lit up.

The woman suddenly grabbed his arm, her tone sharp:

“What is it?! Don’t tell me—you’ve seen him?!”

Ouyang froze, panicking: “N-no, no… I-I’m just really honored to help a bigsh—shot…”

But that explanation barely made it to the word “help,”

when a sharp “PAK!” suddenly cut him off.

Ouyang took a full-on slap to the face.

The force behind that slap was so vicious that Ouyang’s entire left cheek swelled up red.

Even with his decent attributes, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his gaze turned dazed.

But the woman’s tone was even more ruthless than her slap:

“Who gave you permission to be ‘glad’?!”

“If I’m not happy, then no one in this whole Apartment 9999 is allowed to be happy!”

In that moment, the entire Administrator Office went dead silent.

Jiang Ye didn’t even dare breathe.

Ouyang, despite the pain, dizziness, and fear, also held his breath—making no sound.

The woman seemed barely satisfied with their reactions.

She gave Ouyang another fierce glare, then barked harshly:

“If you don’t want to die, then check—thoroughly and properly!”

As she spoke, she waved her hand, and a humanoid black shadow appeared beside Ouyang.

The woman said coldly:

“This Puppet Shadow will watch over you while you complete the task of reviewing the Apartment Resident Registry.”

“So don’t even think about pulling anything funny!”

“Ten minutes max. I’ll be back to ask for your answer!”

Then, she turned to glance at Ge Ge’s direction and snapped:

“You! Come help check too!”

“……” Ge Ge Replica didn’t dare breathe either and rushed to the front desk.

The clearly unhinged woman left the black shadow to monitor them, then vanished on the spot.

Even though her figure had disappeared, the three of them could still feel it—

That shadow she left behind was no weakling either!

At the very least, it could definitely one-shot all three of them.

Especially since Jiang Ye had experienced firsthand how she instantly captured the Light-type Replica alive.

So he knew very well—there was no escaping her!

Of course, to be precise—only two of them mattered.

Because out of the three present, two were Jiang Ye’s replicas…

And Ouyang…

He was still shaking with fear even now.

This time, he finally understood the saying:

“One moment of bravery, a lifetime of introversion…”

Now he realized—

Even if he completed the task that madwoman assigned, he probably wouldn’t get anything good out of it!

Worse, if they really did find something that made her angry or drove her insane…

Then all three of them might not have a good ending!

Ouyang was just vaguely guessing.

But Jiang Ye was completely certain!

If that woman’s target, “Yu Hu,” really appeared in the Apartment 9999 Registry…

Then his 9999 Replica would likely meet the same fate as the Light-type Replica!

He couldn’t even be sure whether [Replica Substitution] would save him…

After all, in that glass bottle, even [Replica Swap] had stopped working.

And even if [Replica Substitution] did trigger,

he wasn’t sure he could fool that madwoman’s eyes…

He didn’t know whether she’d just hunt down all his replicas around the world…

After experiencing all this as the 9999 Administrator,

Jiang Ye suddenly had another thought—

Was the previous 9999 Administrator really dead?

If not, and he was still alive—

How would he have dealt with that madwoman?

Nearly all the Eerie Beings in Apartment 9999 had been wiped out.

Back then, Jiang Ye hadn’t known the consequences of that.

But the former 9999 Administrator surely did.

So—what had he planned to do about it?

Could it be that…

the 9999 Administrator didn’t know what to do either…

And so he faked his death—on purpose—passing this hot potato of a position on to Jiang Ye?!

Maybe even the Apartment Trader who dragged Jiang Ye into 9999…

was actually working with the 9999 Administrator?!

This whole conspiracy theory might not be true.

But it made Jiang Ye feel even more heavy-hearted.

Because if he was right, he was now staring down two IF paths—

IF: “Yu Hu” is in the Apartment 9999 registry → the madwoman kills him on the spot, and buries him along with Yu Hu;

IF: “Yu Hu” isn’t in the registry → the madwoman temporarily spares him,

but the not-so-dead 9999 Administrator might return to take back his position…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep